Best Blenders For Margaritas – Our Top Choices for Elite Frozen Cocktails

There’s no denying that a frozen margarita is often times just what the doctor ordered on a hot summer day.  Whether it’s poolside or alongside some kick ass fajitas, a margarita is the sort of cocktail that elevates the experience.

Of course, it helps immensely to have the right equipment when you set out to achieve your frozen cocktail ambitions.  One of the best ways to make frozen margaritas at home is with one of the most common kitchen appliances – the blender.

But like most other things in life, not all blenders are created equal.  Choosing the right blender can be the difference between a piece of junk you have to throw away after six months of use and an appliance that adds value to your kitchen and makes epic margs for multiple years.

There are a lot of products out there, some great, some not so much.  We’ve taken the time to parse through the wheat and the chaff and compile this list of what we believe are the best blenders for margaritas on the market today.  Read on to see our list along with our tips for choosing the best margarita blender for your needs.

A Quick Note on Margarita Blender Prices

Blenders are one of those appliances that can vary quite a bit in price from product to product. On the cheap end of the spectrum, you might see blenders for sale in the $50 range. On the other end, a commercial grade blender can run $1,000 or more.

By no stretch of the imagination should you feel compelled to spend a small fortune on a blender – there are plenty of high performance products well below that high end range.

Not to mention, we’re talking about making margaritas here! We definitely want our ice to be pulverized and not chunky, but we don’t need the sort of power necessary to pulse tough foods.

With that being said though, the cheaper a product is, the more you’ll likely have to compromise when it comes to performance, longevity, and pitcher volume. So while commercial grade blenders aren’t exactly necessary for margarita making, we’d advise staying away from the super cheap stuff as well.

The units on our best blenders for margaritas list for the most part fall into the $80 – $500 range. Generally speaking, we’ve found products within this range to strike that perfect balance of performance, functionality, and value for the purposes of homemade cocktails.

Best Blenders for Margaritas – Our Reviews

Margaritaville Key West Frozen Concoction Maker

When it comes to the overall best blender for margaritas, it’s hard to argue with the Margaritaville Key West Frozen Concoction Maker as our top choice. This appliance was built specifically for making frozen cocktails, so it comes with a few excellent features which help to deliver an authentic frozen margarita experience.

Most notably, this unit creates premium shaved ice as oppose – NOT crushed ice like a typical blender would make. This particular model has an extra large ice reservoir which is designed to hold enough ice to make up to 2.5 pitchers of margs per batch. The reservoir is a top loader and very easy to refill if you need to make additional batches.

The ease-of-use factor is off the charts with the Key West (and really all of the Margaritaville frozen concoction makers). It comes pre programmed with 4 different drink settings, meaning all you have to do to create excellent cocktails is turn a knob and flip a switch. That’s it! If you prefer to have precise control over the consistency of your drinks, there is also a manual setting where you can customize drink consistency.

Furthermore, the serving pitcher simply pops out and is ready to pour – so it’s a quick process from blending your margaritas to serving them to your lucky guests. The jar is made of thick glass that is quite durable – you can expect for it to last years.

One other important thing to note here; even though the branding of this blender is very much geared towards frozen cocktails, it’s also great for making smoothies and other drinks you’d make in a normal blender.

Things We Like

• Makes perfect consistency margaritas every time
• Incredibly easy to use
• Makes batches faster than a normal blender
• Durable and all parts are dishwasher safe

Things We Don’t

• Can make smoothies but lacks the versatility of traditional blenders

Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender

If you’re searching for a budget friendly option, we’d suggest taking a look at the Ninja BL660 Professional Countertop Blender. At a price point near $100, it’s a great choice if you are looking for something on the cheaper end of the spectrum which still delivers a solid degree of performance.

The pitcher is a nice and large size at 72 ounces (or 9 cups) of drink holding capacity, allowing you to create relatively large batches at once. The unit is powered by a 1,100 watt motor that does a really solid job of crushing ice down to the sort of smooth consistency you like to see for frozen cocktails.

Ninja blenders are intuitive and easy to use. With the press of a button you can choose between 3 blending speeds, pulse, and single serve functionality. All of the parts, including the blade assembly, are dishwasher safe so you don’t have to worry about a bunch of clean up time after the party is over.

Finally, as a more traditional style of blender this unit is great not only for margaritas – it works quite well for smoothies, salsas, juices, dressings, and many more types of consumables.

Things We Like

• Great price point
• Performs quite well for the cost
• Versatile and easy to use

Things We Don’t

• Pitcher is made of plastic which on rare occasion can crack
• Not quite as smooth marg consistency as higher end units

Blendtec Classic Original Blender

Blendtec is a brand that you very likely have come across before, you just might not have known it. The brand supplies the blenders of choice for popular restaurant and drink franchises such as Jamba Juice, Dunkin’ Donuts, Panera Bread, Baskin Robins, and Bahama Bucks to name a few.

The reason these shops trust Blendtec is because their blenders are high quality and produce excellent drinks, period. In particular, we love the Blendtec Total Classic Original Blender for homemade margaritas and frozen drinks because of it’s ideal pitcher size (75 oz) and usability.

The downside of this commercial grade blender is that it’s relatively expensive compared to some of the other options on the market (see: Ninja above). We think the higher price is justified, however, because no there were not any corners cut when it comes to the design aspects and materials used to build this blender.

Perhaps the best feature of this blender is the thick stainless steel blade combined with patented Blendtec technology which automatically pulls your ice and ingredients towards the blade. The end result is incredibly smooth and consistent drinks.

Last but not least, this product is made in the USA and is backed by a 2 year warranty – which is a longer coverage period than most of their competitors.

Things We Like

• Commercial grade blender trusted by national brands
• High quality materials and thoughtful design
• Pitcher size serves 3-4 people per batch
• Strong blade delivers smooth and consistent results
• Covered by 2 year manufacturer’s warranty

Things We Don’t

• More expensive than some alternatives

Margaritaville Tahiti Frozen Concoction Maker

If you’re really looking to create a spectacle whilst also delivering top notch margs at your next outing, the Margaritaville Tahiti Frozen Concoction Maker is the way to go.

Functionally it’s quite similar to the Key West, with the very obvious exception that the Tahiti simply creates about three times the margs per cycle. The set up features three 24 oz serving jars which totals up to a whopping 72 oz of frozen cocktails per batch.

After the ice is shaved, a rotating ice chute moves from pitcher to pitcher in seconds, which gets all of your drinks created quickly while looking super cool in the process. This unit is specifically designed for frozen cocktails and comes with 6 pre-programmed drink creations (margarita, daiquiri, colada, mudslide, mojito, and smoothie), although it’s definitely capable of making other drink types.

In addition to functionality, the Tahiti Frozen Concoction Maker aesthetically looks amazing. It’s constructed from premium bamboo and features clean looking brushed aluminum and polished stainless steel accents. These materials are high quality and meant to last for years.

Things We Like

• Makes high quantities of drinks per batch
• Perfect drink consistency
• Looks great aesthetically and creates a party spectacle
• Quality materials last for years

Things We Don’t

• On the more expensive end of the spectrum

Oster Core 16-Speed Blender

The Oster Core 16-Speed Blender makes our best pitcher for margaritas list for a couple of reasons. First, it’s a great personal sized blender that is great if you only need to serve 1-2 margs at a time.

Second, it’s the least expensive option we could find that still delivered a level of quality that is worth buying. Anything cheaper than this unit, in our opinion, is probably not worth buying for your marg making ambitions.

A 4 blade stainless steel set up does a nice job of pulverizing ice to make fairly smooth margaritas. The jar is made of glass and is also dishwasher safe – so you can expect for it to last a long time and to be low maintenance.

This is also a nice choice if you’re looking for a blender that can do more than make frozen cocktails. As the name of the unit suggests, it has 16 different speed settings from pulse all the way to puree which allow for a lot of blending settings in between.

Things We Like

• Lowest price point for a quality blender
• 16 different speed settings
• Jar is dishwasher safe
• 4 blade stainless steel crushing mechanism

Things We Don’t

• Fairly small jar size
• Less powerful and consistent than alternatives

Margaritaville Bahamas Frozen Concoction Maker

You might be starting to notice a theme on our list – Margaritaville blenders keep making appearances. At the end of the day, their brand makes the best blenders for margaritas in our opinion, and it’s hard to go wrong with any of their individual products.

The Margaritaville Bahamas Frozen Concoction Maker is similar to the Key West in many ways, with the exception that the Bahamas has a slimmer profile and a smaller ice reservoir capacity.

The slimmer profile can be a really nice thing if you plan to take your unit on the go or if storage space is at a premium at your home. However, the smaller ice reservoir means you’ll be refilling ice more frequently as it only holds enough ice to make one pitcher at a time.

With all of that being said, this unit is still very much worth consideration if you’re a fan of the slim profile. It has plenty of power and makes the perfectly consistent shaved ice we have all come to expect from Margaritaville machines.

Things We Like

• Slim profile is easy to store or take on the go
• Makes frozen cocktails with perfect consistency
• Plenty of power
• Made with high quality materials

Things We Don’t

• Small ice reservoir means you’ll be refilling ice with each batch
• Only 1 pre-programmed drink setting

Comparing the Best Blenders for Margaritas

When it comes to choosing the best blender for margaritas for your set up there are a few things to keep in mind, other than price, which are easy to overlook yet can make a big difference.

Regular vs. “Specialty” Blender

One of the first things you should consider is whether you are looking for a blender that will primarily or exclusively make frozen cocktails. As you can probably tell from our list, some of the highest quality margarita making machines aren’t necessarily the best at other tasks like making homemade salsas and dips.

Here at Bar and Drink, we are all about the margs so we definitely lean towards the units which are specifically designed for frozen cocktails. It’s not that you can’t make great drinks in a traditional blender – but at the end of the day the design features of blenders designed specifically for frozen cocktails will deliver better margaritas.

With that being said, it’s totally understandable if you prefer a do it all blender. The reality is that we don’t have infinite kitchen storage space and we also have needs outside the margarita. Either way, take some time to consider whether you want purely a frozen cocktail maker or a more versatile appliance.

Margarita Batch Size

The last thing you want is a small capacity blender to try to serve a large group of people. You’ll be spending all night working instead of enjoying company! Picture how many people you plan to serve margs for and buy a blender with a matching pitcher size.

A good general rule of thumb is 8 oz for a “regular” sized cocktail. Many standard pitcher sizes on blenders are around 36 oz, which would be good for around 4 drink servings if you made a full pitcher.

Shaved or Crushed Ice

There’s a fundamental difference between shaved and crushed ice. Shaved ice is ice which gets rubbed against a razor sharp edge that results in extremely thin ice shavings. Crushed ice is ice which is smashed into tiny pieces by a blade.

Why does that matter? The end result’s consistency will be different, even when comparing high quality blenders. Generally speaking, shaved ice produces a smoother drink whereas crushed ice will produce slightly coarser drink. Neither of those options are inherently better for margaritas, and preference is largely a personal choice.

The thing we would add on this point is that lower quality blenders which crush ice might not be able to crush to fine enough pieces to enjoy a proper margarita – so be sure to look into the crushing power of your unit if you go this route.

Noise Level

If you like to keep your indoor living space quiet, your blender’s noise level can make an impact on how much you enjoy it. For the most part, the more powerful the motor, the louder your unit will be.

If you plan to use your unit primarily outside, this might be less of a consideration for you since the noise will dissipate more quickly than indoors. Either way, it’s worth taking a look at customer feedback on the various models to see if the noise level while blending is palatable for you.

Drink Settings

One of the more overlooked features of the best blenders for margaritas is pre-programmed drink settings. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to work very hard when I am in margarita mode.

Having drink and ice settings that you can choose with the press of a button is a luxury – especially when the end results are exactly what you were looking for.

Manufacturer’s Warranty

Any time you are shopping for a high ticket item, warranty coverage is a must. Especially for items like blenders, where electronics are involved, it’s super important to be covered in the even you get a faulty part – no matter how unlikely this might be.

A 1 year warranty is the baseline for nice blenders from what we can tell. Some offer 2 years of protection or more. Anything less than this I would consider a red flag and potentially a sign that the underlying product is not well made.

Final Thoughts

There you have it! At the end of the day, there are some things that are must-haves in a blender, but other things that come down to personal preference.

In sum, we think the Margartiaville frozen concoction makers are the all around best blenders for margaritas. When it comes to pure frozen cocktail making, you won’t beat the consistency of the drinks and how easy these units are to operate.

Choosing the right unit can be the difference between frustration and years of epic margaritas. No pressure! We hope this content helped your decision making process. If you have any follow up questions about this article, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Looking for margarita recipe ideas to use in your blender? Check out some of our favorites next:

• Skinny margarita
• Rum margarita